Electronics

It's impossible to categorically state which breakthrough has had the greatest impact on our modern world, but harnessing electricity would have to be right up there. It's hard for most of us to imagine our lives without it – you wouldn't be reading this for a start. From electric lighting to instantaneous global communications, the evolution of electronics is far from over – keep up to date with the latest developments here.

Electronics Audio available

Smallest pixels ever created have a heart of gold

Michael Irving May 12, 2019

Researchers at Cambridge University have managed to create the smallest pixels in the world, about a million times tinier than those in a phone. These new pixels could be used in huge, flexible displays that are relatively easy to manufacture and cheaper to run.

The smallest pixels ever created are made with a gold grain coated in an active polymer ...

Electronics Audio available

New matchbox-sized radar could make its way into drones and security systems

David Nield April 23, 2019

The smaller and lighter electronics get, the more ways they can be used. A team of researchers has come up with a compact radar system the size of a matchbox that could be deployed in drones and other gadgets where portability and low cost are important.

The compact device uses a frequency-modulated continuous wave type of radar, producing continuous pulses of radio ...

Electronics Audio available

Bluetooth metal detector uses your smartphone to do its thinking

Ben Coxworth April 2, 2019

Although smartphones perform many tasks on their own, they're also able to make devices such as drones, robots and cameras cheaper and/or more capable by acting as their "brains." One of the latest gadgets to receive such a treatment is the humble – and potentially treasure-finding – metal detector.

The Air Metal Detector is currently on Kickstarter

Electronics Audio available

MIT system locates electrical failures before they occur

Ben Coxworth March 25, 2019

It can be challenging, keeping track of multiple electrical devices to see which ones are currently running, and which may be about to fail. MIT's NILM (non-intrusive load monitoring) system is designed to help, tracking the status of devices in settings such as factories, high-rises or even ships.

Electronics Audio available

Two-dimensional antenna converts Wi-Fi signals into electricity

Michael Irving January 28, 2019

In a new step towards truly wireless charging, engineers have developed an ultra-thin device that captures Wi-Fi signals and converts them into electricity.

Engineers have developed a new two-dimensional device that can convert Wi-Fi signals into electricity

Electronics Audio available

Pocket scanner blasts food with infrared light to determine its freshness

David Szondy January 3, 2019

Every year, millions of tonnes of perfectly good food are wasted around the world because people aren't sure it's still fresh. To cut down on this, researchers at Fraunhofer are developing an infrared pocket scanner that will let food handlers determine if a food item has gone bad.

A pocket scanner under development at Fraunhofer relies infrared light to determine the freshness of food

Electronics Audio available

Handheld inkjet printer applies color graphics to all sorts of surfaces

Ben Coxworth December 21, 2018

It's all very well and good, printing color graphics onto sheets of paper. However, what happens if you want to print them onto a wall, a piece of wood, an item of clothing, or anything else that can't be fed through a desktop printer? Well, that's where the PrintBrush XDR comes in.

The PrintBrush XDR applies graphics to a bottle opener

Electronics Audio available

Swarms of bionic bees could monitor farms with electronic backpacks

Michael Irving December 11, 2018

Our drones are pretty handy, but nature’s drones – bees – are far more efficient. Rather than building our own from scratch, researchers at the University of Washington have created tiny suites of sensors that bees can wear like backpacks, to help gather data from their environment.

Researchers have fitted bees with electronic backpacks that can sense their surroundings and collect data

Electronics Audio available

"Friendly" EMP generator to help protect electronics against electromagnetic attack

David Szondy December 9, 2018

Electromagnetic pulse (EMP) weapons might be a staple of movies and video games, but they pose a very real threat. Sandia National Laboratories has developed a "friendly" EMP generator to make sure military and civilian equipment can withstand such potentially devastating bursts of energy.

Sandia National Laboratories researcher Leonard Martinez connects a high-voltage-insulating line that circulates oil between a coaxial ...

Electronics Audio available

Smallest 3D transistors ever made measure a minuscule 2.5 nanometers

Michael Irving December 9, 2018

Engineers from MIT and the University of Colorado have developed a new microfabrication technique and used it to produce the smallest 3D transistors ever made, measuring about a third the size of the current leading commercial products.

Engineers at MIT and the University of Colorado have developed a new fabrication technique to make ...